Opinion | Sports

Editorial: Washington team's 'racial slur' has no place in society

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The logo for the Change the Mascot campaign

The Washington Post again calls for the retirement of the local NFL team's racist mascot:

The granddaughter of the man who gave Washington’s football team its name 81 years ago says it is time for a change. A federal judge hearing a case involving the team bans use of the Redskins name in court documents. And a Native American sportswriter explains the ugly history behind the word “redskin” and why its use continues to cause so much hurt.
We are under no illusion that any of these recent developments will cause team owner Daniel Snyder to give ground on his infamous vow to “never” change his team’s name. So dug in is Mr. Snyder that not even an adverse ruling from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seems to have fazed him. But it is clear that momentum to rid the team of its offensive name is only growing and a name change is a matter of when and how, not if.
The latest voice in the chorus for change comes from a somewhat unexpected source. Jordan Wright, a descendant of original team owner George Preston Marshall, knows the importance of the team’s history, and so it was generally assumed she would support upholding the tradition of the name, the bulwark of Mr. Snyder’s defense. But as she told The Post’s Theresa Vargas, “It’s about respect. If even one person tells you that name, that word you used, offends them, then that’s enough. That should be enough.”

Get the Story:
Editorial: Redskins name gets even harder for Daniel Snyder to defend (The Washington Post 7/29)